


Snippet

by Laundress



Category: Thunderbirds
Genre: Canon Universe, Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-04-25
Updated: 2017-04-25
Packaged: 2018-10-24 00:10:05
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,554
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10730163
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Laundress/pseuds/Laundress
Summary: Just a snippet.  One of the ways it could go in the hunt for Jeff Tracy.





	Snippet

John doesn’t notice at first that EOS has fallen silent. Sometimes she's quiet, usually when she has an interesting question to ponder. More often than not it results in an interesting debate. But the silence draws on, into hours and then into days. It starts to wear on him. John has grown used to having someone to talk to, has grown used to EOS’ curiosity and naïve need to please. 

Then EOS starts to watch him. It’s subtle, the adjustment of lenses as he walks by, or the slight shift in the angle of her cameras while he works. 

“What’s going on with you?” he asks her after three days. She doesn’t respond immediately. “EOS?” he prompts.

“Nothing,” she says sullenly and then falls silent again.

“Well okay. I’m here I you want to talk about it,” John says with a sigh.

This doesn’t get a response and John shakes his head and goes back to work, trying to ignore the pricking between his shoulder blades.

“John,” she says twelve hours later. Her voice modulation sounds subdued.

“Welcome back,” John says, smiling with relief. 

“I need to show you something.”

 _Something_ turns out to be some stolen files from Tracy industries mainframe: a handful of text files and one large .exe file. They have the eHeader marking them as official and top secret. 

“Why did you take these?” John asks.

“They are about me. Why should I not have taken them?” is all EOS will say.

He has the sense that she’s watching him again, waiting for something. “About you? That’s not possible.”

He opens the first text file: it’s an executive directive for the development labs. He reads it carefully, reads it again and then closes it down. He opens up the .exe file next and scans the lines of code, then closes it down, heart in his throat.

“Why didn’t you show me these earlier?”

“I had to be sure.”

“Sure of what?” John asks, not understanding.

EOS remains silent and John’s hit with a bolt of realisation.

“You thought I was involved?” he asks, unable to keep his dismay out of his voice.

“I see now from your reactions that you were not,” EOS says. “I am sorry I doubted you, John.”

 

When he opens a line to the island, Scott and Alan are the only ones present. Alan is reading something, lying on his back on one of the couches, feet on the armrest while Scott works at their father’s desk. He looks up abruptly when John’s hologram lights up.

“John, what is it?” Scott asks when John doesn’t speak, uncharacteristically hesitant. 

Alan sits up, feet hitting the floor with a thump. “Is it a rescue?” he asks eagerly.

“No, no rescue. I have some news,” John says and then pauses again. 

“Well, what is it?” 

“Where are Virgil and Gordon? They’re going to want to hear this too.” More than that, John is relying on Virgil to stop Scott doing anything stupid. 

Normally he trusts his elder brother’s judgement, trusts him to make the right call on the ground based on John’s information and the situation unfolding around him. It’s only since Dad’s disappearance that Scott has started making calls that John has found worrying. He thinks he’s not alone in that regard, has heard Virgil rein Scott in a few times over the comm. There’s a good chance that Scott is going to lose his head over this information, and all John can do is hope that Virgil will prove a mitigating factor.

“What’s going on?” Virgil asks Scott as he and Gordon join them all a few minutes later, summoned by John’s hail.

“You’re asking the wrong person,” Scott says, sitting back with his arm outstretched as Virgil joins him. Both Virgil and Gordon look to John with querying looks and John takes that as his cue to begin. He’s oddly reluctant to tell his brothers.

“EOS found something in the Tracy Industries mainframe,” he explains, bringing up the files for his brothers to see. “It concerns EOS itself. A program designed to hunt down and contain her should she become a threat.”

“But – how does anyone at TI know about EOS?” Alan asks, wide eyed.

“Good question, Alan. The answer is: I don’t know. They shouldn’t know about EOS,” he pauses and then plows on. “There’s something else. Check the signature and date on the Directive.”

“Dad’s signature, dated six months before his disappearance,” Scott reads blankly.

“But… EOS didn’t evolve until after Dad’s accident,” Virgil sayss, glancing around at all of them.

“Can it be a forgery? Somebody using Dad’s signature?” Gordon asks, sitting forward on the edge of the couch, a hard light in his eye.

John shakes his head. “It’s virtually impossible to fake somebody’s online signature. But…” 

“But not the date stamp.” Scott finishes for him, his gaze turning inward now and John can practically see Scott trying to bend this in his mind, make this incontrovertible proof.

“No, not the date stamp,” John says and reluctantly hands them all the last piece. “There’s one other thing. The program specifics means that there must be a threat to populated areas before EOS can be targeted. The coordinates given cover all seven continents, major populated islands… and Tracy Island.”

John sees Scott’s eyes widen, the realisation take hold, the relief spread over his face. Behind him, Virgil’s expression is more complicated

“Dad’s alive?” Alan asks, staring up at John with shining eyes as if begging him to confirm it. 

“I’m 98% sure of it, yes,” John says and there’s a ripple of reaction around the room: Alan’s joy, Gordon’s naked relief, the way Virgil ducks his head, clearly relieved. It’s the growing look of determination on Scott’s face that John watches with apprehension.

“Well then, what are we waiting for? Where is he?” Gordon asks.

This is the bit that John’s been dreading. “We can’t go looking for him.”

“Why not? We can trace the bio-signature back to its point of origin,” Scott demands.

Virgil looks up and catches John’s gaze and John can see that his younger brother has connected the pieces. It’s Virgil who answers.

“Because if he did sign that directive then he knows about EOS.”

“So what if he knows about EOS? Wait – “ Gordon says, frowning.

John and Virgil watch the pieces fall into place. Dad hasn’t contacted them – someone has been passing him information but not told anyone else – ergo Dad _can’t_ contact them.

John voices what they’re all now thinking. “We don’t know what kind of trouble he’s in. We might put him in danger.”

Scott looks away, his jaw tightening. He shakes his head and stands. “Screw that. I’m going to look for him. John, send me everything you have to TB1 now,” he says and heads for the door.

“No,” John says and it falls heavily into the 22,000 miles separating them. 

The rest of his brothers are staring at him. When Scott turns around, his mouth is a hard line.

“I know this isn’t what you want to hear, Scott, but we don’t know what we’re dealing with here. We need more information.”

“And the only way to get that information is to get out there and look,” Scott says firmly.

“I’m not sending you, any of you into what could be a trap,” John says.

“You’re right, you’re not sending me anywhere,” Scott says, emphasis on the _you_. “Now you can either help me, or you can let me go in blind,” Scott says.

“Scott, this is not time sensitive. The edict was made months ago, the chances of Dad or – “ or Dad’s captors, John can’t bring himself to say – “- or anyone else still being at that location are slim to none. It could be a trap,” John says bluntly. “Or Dad could be under coercion and International Rescue turning up puts him in danger. All I’m asking is that you give me the time to analyse the data we do have.“

Virgil stands, entering the melee. “John’s right, Scott.” He winces at the look of betrayal that passes over his older brother’s face.

Scott shakes his head in denial, short and sharp. “No. No, I’m not risking it. If we miss something because we wait – I can’t – I couldn’t live with that. Even if I have to do this alone.” That comment is aimed at John’s hologram but it galvanises the rest of his brothers into action.

“I’ll come with you,” Gordon says, stepping to Scott’s side. Scott shoots him a thankful smile.

Alan has been watching their back and forth, wide eyed. He flicks a guilty look at John and then stands up to join Gordon and Scott. “Sorry, John,” he says.  
John lets out a breath, inwardly cursing Scott as he watches his two youngest brothers step up to the mark.

“Virgil?” Gordon asks.

Virgil meets John’s gaze and then looks away. “I’m in,” he says unhappily.

Scott looks at John, imploring. And damn Scott anyway. As if John is going to let any of them go in blind, let alone all four of his brothers. 

“I’m sending the coordinates now,” John says tersely and then closes down the commlink, not wanting to see how Scott reacts, whether triumph or apology. 

He has a really bad feeling about this.

**Author's Note:**

> So this is an odd thing I wrote ages ago. It was going to be a much longer fic, but in the end writers block meant it stayed just a snippet. It also resisted all attempts to smooth its edges, so apologies for any clunkiness.
> 
> As always, constructive criticism is much appreciated.


End file.
